Memorial Scrolls Trust

The Memorial Scrolls Trust, located in London, acquired over 1500 Czech Scrolls that survived the Second World War even as their communities did not. Following restoration, the Scrolls were bestowed to synagogues around the world on permanent loan to link contemporary communities with those that perished under the Nazi regime.

Temple Emanuel is fortunate to have three of these Scrolls. It’s a rare privilege - to be part of the critical work of the Memorial Scrolls Trust and to honor the memories of the people and communities who are no longer with us.

Each of our Memorial Scrolls has a unique history:

Scroll #381: Written in 1779, this Scroll came from Mlada Vozice in Bohemia. The Torah was purchased with funds donated in memory of Michael Flax, husband of Elayne. In 1982, Elayne traveled to England to pick up the Scroll and bring it to Temple Emanuel. The Scroll is unusual because the words are in brown rather than in traditional black.

Scroll #629: This is an orphan Scroll (there is no record of the town where it came from), written in approximately 1900. The Scroll was purchased and donated to Temple Emanuel by sisters Ronnie Loiederman and Mitzi Rapp in memory of their father, Charles Wasserman.

Scroll #653:This scroll was written in 1880 and collected from the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague. When Jacob Levin, a member of Temple Israel in Silver Spring, passed away his children sponsored Scroll #653. Rabbi Stan Levin (Jacob’s grandson) had the Torah transferred to Temple Emanuel when Temple Israel merged with another congregation and its building sold.